Keith lay awake for much of the night, not an unusual occurrence under normal circumstances, but these were not ‘normal’ by any means. Spending the evening with Allea only reinforced the notion that he had met her somewhere before. Or perhaps she just reminded him of someone.

Were all Arusian women this damn challenging? It was hard to miss the striking similarities between their guest and the Princess. Both young and high-spirited, they both wanted to know everything about everything. Keith could all but keep a straight face throughout the barrage of questions Allea continually threw at him. She was probably curious by nature…or perhaps she was a spy.

Keith hadn’t ruled out that she could be a plant sent by Zarkon. He would be a fool to trust her just because she had a pretty face. But somehow, he just couldn’t sense anything evil or malicious about her. He was almost sure of it after tonight.

Keith let his mind drift back to that one moment. They were talking about the war, then something happened. He looked at her, into her eyes, and he saw something. A sadness of some kind? Empathy? He didn’t know her well enough, but he felt something. She was young, but there seemed to be a wisdom far beyond her years. She reminded him of someone else he knew.

His thoughts quickly turned to Allura. He hated going into her quarters unannounced, but it couldn’t have been helped. He needed to know that she was safe, and after searching the castle, he knew she’d gone to bed. He couldn’t blame her though; it was well into the night by the time he went to check on her. He only hoped she hadn’t waited up too long for him. She needed the rest.

Keith sighed and glanced at the clock for the twentieth time that night. Ten minutes to five. It was time for practice.

The Arusian sun barely hinted at its inevitable arrival at the horizon. The moon still hung low and heavy under the slowly disappearing stars, and here they were, for another early morning edition of lion practice. Keith enjoyed conducting these early a.m. runs…usually. His team, on the other hand, despised him for them.

“Okay, team. Look sharp.” His voice boomed through the haze of their sleepy heads. “This morning, we’re going to have a good old fashion, down and dirty, free for all. In other words, everyone for his or herself. No teams, no co-operation; your enemy is any color lion that is not your own. Watch your rear, don’t get hit, and score as many points as possible. I’ll be examining the statistics of this drill later, and whoever has the lowest score has to help Nanny in the kitchen tonight.” He grinned at the simultaneous groans that filtered through his com unit. “And we’ll be using real lasers to make it nice and authentic. I want everyone to switch off their missiles right now – only use low density lasers. I don’t want the lions damaged, or anyone hurt…in that order. I’m transmitting the perimeter radius through to your computers. If you go outside the boundaries, you won’t get any points deducted, but everyone will be allowed to make fun of you for being a chicken , so don’t try to run from your opponents. That’s Zarkon’s job, not ours. Get ready and…GO!”

This was Keith’s favorite drill - the dog-fight. It was as close to an actual battle as they could possibly get. It took every bit of mental and physical concentration to score points while trying to avoid getting hit at the same time. Of the fifty or so times they’d done this drill, Keith had yet to finish second, but Lance was never far behind. Lance enjoyed chasing the Black. For some reason, his second-in-command singled him out. True to form, Keith could see the Red Lion stalking his current position from the far corner of the airfield.

Keith could keep only half an eye on Lance, for he had a more immediate problem - Hunk. Hunk was an excellent marksman, although his talent seemed to get lost next to his teammates’ more than equal abilities. Keith enjoyed taking Hunk on. He posed a challenge, but it was more than that. Hunk always came after him with a raw intensity that Keith could reciprocate. The two men were friends, but there was an unspoken animosity between them that could have been documented in a file designated ‘Twyla’. They were the best of friends but the worst of enemies at the drop of a hat. Neither of them took it to heart. They took out their frustrations on the practice field and left them there. After all, there was nothing wrong will a little display of healthy aggression.

Keith held a light trigger finger as he set up his lion in a roll that would come up on Hunk from underneath. It wasn’t enough. This was a tried and true maneuver of Keith’s that Hunk was familiar with. The Yellow Lion was waiting for him and met him with two hits.

“Gotcha! Keith, I hate to tell you this man, but this is the day you’re going d-o-w-n.” While he was talking, Keith had recovered with three shots at the Yellow Lion’s expense.

“Caught you napping, Hunk. But then again, that’s what you’re best at.”

Keith and Hunk continued their bantering session for close to a half an hour, trying to score off each other, and anyone else who got in the way. But suddenly, Keith’s control panel sounded an alarm. That meant one of the lion ships had sustained enough damage to cause a crash if the ammunition was to have been at full strength. Keith looked to see who had crashed so early in the drill. He bit his lower lip and sighed. It was Blue Lion. This distracted him for only a second, but a second more than Hunk needed to score three direct hits. Another alarm sounded. Keith looked to his control panel. It was the Black’s alarm. That was all Keith could take. Something had to be done.

“That’s enough everybody. Abort the drill. Disengage all weapons and meet me on the ground.”

Keith sat his lion down in their usual debriefing location, a desolate expanse of rock and dirt that was about a kilometer south of the Castle. He preferred this outside location for some reason. He told the team that it was because it was easier than parking the lions, reentering the castle, and finding a conference room. That wasn’t exactly true. Out here, it was just him and his team. Within castle walls, he answered to the Garrison, Coran, and Allura. Out here, he was in charge. He could say or do anything he felt appropriate to the overall functioning of the group without interference.

Keith took a final look at the statistics and rubbed his temples. Her numbers were low, but so were his for once. Keith wasn’t happy in the least. Something had to be done, or their next encounter with Zarkon might be their last. He crawled out the upper hatch and jumped down. The team was already waiting for him a distance away, helmets tucked under their arms.

As he approached, he took note of the expressions on each of his team members’ faces. They looked apprehensive. They knew they hadn’t faired well. Keith stopped in front of them and dove into his impromptu speech.

“Team, we have been having some problems lately. No matter if it’s one of us, or all of us, it’s still all of our problem. However, I shoulder the entirety of the blame for today’s performance.”

A startled Pidge looked up. “But how is it your fault, Skipper?”

Keith cleared his throat. “Because Pidge, I haven’t been taking very good care of you guys.”

They all looked up, some confused, others still down-trodden.

“I realize now that I’ve crossed the line between hard work and beating you to death. I’m afraid I’ve finally become the slave driver everyone says that I am.”

Pidge wasn’t about to let his Captain berate himself. He joked around about Keith being a slave-driver, but he never really meant it literally. Well, maybe he had been pushing them all lately, but Keith was pretty fair. Their Captain always knew best.

“Keith, that’s not true…not really.”

Keith had expected something like this from Pidge. In the future, the smallest of the Voltron Force would have to learn not to take the word of his superiors as law. Everyone made mistakes. No one was perfect all of the time.

“Thanks Pidge, but I still owe you all an apology.” He paused. “Especially you, Princess.”

The Princess had been kicking a small stone around with her boot before looking up abruptly. She was expecting the blunt of long lecture, not an apology. After all, she knew how terrible her performances had been lately. She had been scoring the lowest percentages for every practice consistently for the last two weeks, and today was no exception. She had all but gotten herself killed…doing a drill. She hated when Keith was disappointed in her. It was almost more than she could bare. But today, she deserved it.

“Princess, I don’t even know where to start with you.” He was going to have to be careful. He knew her well enough to sense when she was close to tears. “I would apologize to you in private, but this concerns the entire team. Actually, I owe them the same apology, but maybe a little less so.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but he silenced her with a look. “Please, just wait for me to finish. It’s pretty obvious what Zarkon has been trying to do to us, and I’ve let him succeed. We’re tired, each and every one of us. But I should have seen this coming. Princess, I’m surprised you’ve put up with me for as long as you have. I am completely responsible for your less-than-usual performance as of late. You have endless other things to do aside from being Blue Lion’s pilot. I can’t expect that any of you would function well without proper rest. Lance, Hunk, Pidge, Princess…I’m sorry.”

This was new. Keith was apologizing? This was not an everyday occurrence, but for as much as it took him to recognize his own mistakes, the team could only respect him more for it. No one said anything. They just nodded in acceptance.

Keith expected at least one wisecrack, but not a one was offered, not even from his best antagonist, his first officer. His team was definitely something special.

“Thanks, guys. Until further notice, lion practice will be at eleven in the morning, after breakfast. That will be all for today.”

He couldn’t help but grin for the stunned expressions on their faces. All but one skipped away toward their respective lion. This was going to be good for his team, although he still wasn’t completely satisfied with his restitution concerning the Princess, and he wasn’t sure why. Over the past two days, he had felt a certain sense of guilt whenever his thoughts turned to her. Maybe this wasn’t professional - maybe it was personal.

“That was a mighty brave thing you did for the troops, O’ Great One.”

“And you stayed behind to remind me of my generous, gratuitous humility…O’ Trusty Side-Kick?”

Lance chuckled. “And he still has a sense of humor, folks.” His expression darkened just a bit. “Actually, I wanted to see if everything was alright with you.”

Keith fronted him a curious eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

Lance expected to drag it out of him. “I just want to know if everything’s okay. I couldn’t help but notice the stats, Keith, and don’t take this the wrong way, but you couldn’t hit the broad side of a Doom cruiser with a planet this morning.”

“You noticed, huh?”

Lance nodded. “Having some girl trouble, are we?”

“None of your business, Lance.”

“You know, Keith?” He let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m just a little too tired to do our usual song and dance this morning, so you can do us both a favor and out with it already.”

It was no use. Keith usually ended up telling Lance everything anyway…except for that time he had kissed Lance’s girlfriend back at the academy. That one was best kept to himself.

“It’s Allea. There’s something about her that I can’t put my finger on, and it’s driving me crazy. It’s like I know her or something.”

“Do you like her?”

“Of course I like her, Lance. She’s a nice girl.”

Lance burst into a fit of unexpected laughter. “Here we go with that song and dance again. I asked, do you like her?”

Keith thought about it for a minute. He had barely considered that as a possibility. Was that why he couldn’t get the thought of her out of his mind? Was this why he felt guilty every time he even glanced at Allura?

“I’m not sure. Maybe. Probably.”

Keith waited for Lance to say something, but he didn’t.

“What? Is that so wrong?”

Lance finally spoke. “The question is, do you think it’s wrong? And if so, you have to ask yourself why. Keith, I can’t give you any good advice on this one. You have to decide for yourself whether or not it’s worth it to pursue something with this girl.”

“But I don’t even know what I want yet. It’s just so complicated, you know?”

Lance’s gaze fell to the ground. Allura was like a sister to him, but Keith actually was his brother. He couldn’t intentionally sabotage something that could possibly make him happy. Lord knew that his friend could use a little happiness these days.

“Like I said, Keith, I can’t tell you what to do, but I can point out the obvious. This girl, Allea, seems like the real deal. At first I wasn’t so sure, but I don’t smell evil on her, and you know I’ve been paying attention. And she is hot, which makes the deal even sweeter.”

“Lance!”

“Whatever, Keith. She is one serious fox, and don’t give me that ‘I never noticed’ crap. You have to give me some credit here.”

Keith smiled. Of course he had noticed.

“She seems like a nice girl - a little young, but being able to call you a cradle robber might be kind of fun.”

“Lance!”

“I’m not done yet. And I will say this - she does seem to be smitten with you…although if she had any real taste in men, she’d…”

“Lance!”

“Did anyone ever tell you you sound like a broken record? As I was saying, she is definitely worth thinking about, but in all seriousness…” He trailed off, trying to chose his words carefully. “You yourself told us that anyone we chose to “cavort” with, we put in immediate danger. She would have to move into the castle, and that definitely wouldn’t improve your domestic situation at all.”

“Domestic situation?”

“You really have a problem with being honest with yourself. Did anyone ever tell you that? Does the name Allura ring a bell?”

“Listen, Lance…”

“Nope. You’re in the middle of listening. So anyway, you know that this entire situation is going to come down to you having to make a choice. You know that if you pick up with Allea, a certain Princess’ feelings will be hurt. Essentially, it comes down to this: you can alienate the girl you might end up loving, or you could alienate the girl you already love.”

“Lance, you’re out of your frigging mind.”

“And you, my friend, are out of yours.” Keith looked away. Lance was right, and at that moment, Keith realized he was never meant to lead a normal, uncomplicated existence.

“What should I do?”

Lance shrugged his shoulders and put on his helmet. “That’s up to you, my friend, but I can tell you the only advice my father ever gave me about women: ‘If you want to be miserable, think with your heart, but if you want to be happy, think with your…’ Well, you can fill in the rest. Nice guy, my dad. Divorced twice, but still…a good man.”

“You’re a funny, funny guy, Lance.”

“I get it from my dad. See you at home.” Lance turned and took off at full speed in the direction of his lion, leaving Keith to shake his head in a cloud of dust.

Theirs was definitely a strange friendship.

Haggar awoke from her second sound sleep inside her room at the Castle of Lions. A strip of bright sunlight streaked far across the cream-colored rug covering the wooden floor. She had slept in…again. But it mattered little. She hadn’t made contact with Doom for almost an entire day, and Zarkon was going to have her head.

A fierce knock at the chamber door startled her. She didn’t even have the chance to respond before the door slid open. A plump, familiar form blew in and began opening the window blinds.

“One would think you never slept at all before you came to us.”

As light flooded the room, Haggar threw the covers over her head. This Arusian sunlight was going to kill her. “Good morning, um, Nanny.”

“Now, we’ll have none of that.” Haggar couldn’t keep the intruding Nanny from pulling off the covers. “The Princess and her friends are waiting for you at the breakfast table. Up, little lady! Let’s go!”

Haggar groaned but sat up anyway. If the Arusian sun didn’t kill her, then having someone perpetually telling her what to do and when to do it would soon enough. It was like being a child, something she hadn’t been for many, many, many years. How did anyone ever get any privacy around here? One thing was for sure; it would be next to impossible to get lonely.

Haggar couldn’t help but notice a new energy in the dining room that wasn’t there the night before. Everyone seemed engaged in lively conversation, laughing and joking with one another. They were definitely in good spirits over something. Perhaps it was because Zarkon hadn’t attacked in the last few days. She didn’t really give it much thought. Her attention was elsewhere.

The Captain and the Princess were yet again involved in a semi-private conversation. Haggar studied the blond Arusian Princess from the corner of her eye. No wonder she garnered the attention of every man she ran across - she was one of the biggest flirts Haggar had ever seen. Even Haggar could have the entire galaxy at her feet if she batted her eyelashes half as much as Allura did. Well, maybe before.

Haggar tried to read the Captain’s responses to the Princess’ shameless wiles. As usual, she couldn’t tell much. He listened and laughed when she did, but other than that, he assumed his usual expressionless disposition. Then she noticed something else. More than a few times since she’d entered the room, he had glanced over in her direction. She also noticed that when he caught her attention, he didn’t look away. Only when the Princess demanded his attention back with that non-stop, whiney voice did he turn back to her.

Maybe her little side scheme was working. Perhaps she had managed to peak his interest. After all, with a face like this, it would be difficult not to. Too bad that tonight, none of it would matter.

For a moment, an unpleasant, uneasy feeling started to form in her gut. She didn’t want to kill him, but this was war, and casualties were the price of victory. She realized now that finding the lion keys would be unlikely, and she would have to go to her back up plan. It would be a waste though. He was brilliant, a good warrior, and an excellent leader and pilot. Maybe she could convince him to come with her. No, she knew he would not. His demise would be unfortunate, but at least she would be making a martyr out of him. Haggar let the thought leave her mind. She would attend to the matter when the time came.

She turned her attention back to the annoying blond-haired vixen who was making a complete fool of herself. ‘Does she think that she can just flash those blue eyes and get any man she wants? Not if I have anything to do with it.’

Just as she was about to open her mouth, she was interrupted.

“Hey Cap! What do you say we take the family on a little excursion today?”

“What kind of excursion did you have in mind?”

The second in command propped his elbows up on the table, only to remove them when he noticed the nanny glared in his direction. “How about a picnic? Nothing too fancy-shmancy. Just a little break for us over-worked, under paid Alliance officers.”

All eyes turned to Keith. He bent his head down in supposed thought, only to look up to find five different pairs of expectant eyes upon him.

“What about you, Allea?” Keith asked. “Can you manage?”

“Well…”

“Of course she can manage. We’ll just saddle her up with you. How about it, Allea? Sound good to get out of this stuffy old castle?”

“Well, I…uh…okay.” Just great. She would bring about the downfall of the Royal House of Arus tonight, but first, she was going on a picnic. Wonderful.

“All right, then!” Lance all but jumped out of his seat. “I need to rustle up some grub for later. Anyone want to help?”

Two of his friends followed him from the dining hall, now in even better moods than before. This place was too damn uplifting.

“Allea?” It was only the third time the snobby Princess had bothered to address her. It would cause Haggar little pain to put an end to her useless life.

“Yes, Your Majesty…I mean, Allura?”

“Why don’t you come with me to my quarters? You’ll need something more comfortable to wear outside. That smock will be too hot to wear today.”

“Thank you, Princess. Most generous of you.”

The Captain stood and gave both women a slight bow. “Then I’ll see you ladies in an hour or so.”

“But, where are you going?” Haggar hadn’t meant for that to come out as it did.

“I have some work to do, but I’ll see you soon. I’ll stop by the Princess’ room to escort you both down to the stables.”

He directed a polite smile in the direction of the Princess and turned. Haggar watched her rival’s gaze follow him until the door closed behind him.

“How about this one, Allea? The green would match your eyes.”

“That will be fine. Thank you.” Being pleasant to the Princess was making her more nauseated by the minute. Even if they weren’t enemies, Haggar doubted she would get along very well with the spoiled princess.

Haggar began disrobing to change. For an instant, her thoughts turned to Zarkon. She was yet to contact him. She didn’t even want to think what he was going to do to her if she didn’t have something for him at their next contact. Tonight, she would bring about the end of the Voltron Captain. It would almost be too easy. He was far more trusting than she expected, but still, it would be unfortunate. After all, he was just a kid.

Haggar observed “herself” in the large wall-sized mirror. The green dress that hung just above knees fit nicely. Back in her youth, she had worn many pretty dresses.

“You look lovely.”

Haggar smiled in satisfaction. “Do you think that he’ll like it?”

“Um…who?”

“The Captain. Do you think he’ll find it pretty?”

The look on the Princess’ face was priceless. Haggar had to keep from snickering.

“Keith? Well…he…he’s really not one to notice things like that.”

“He is a man, isn’t he? I mean, he’s not gay.”

Who did this girl think she was? “No, he’s not gay. He’s just too busy with other things to…”

“To notice something pretty? Last night, he took me up to the lion monument just to show me the pretty view. I’d say he has a deep appreciation for things that are pleasing to the eye.”

Allura couldn’t keep her eyes from doubling in size. “He took you up to the monument?”

Haggar was really starting to have fun. “Princess, if you don’t mind me asking - does he have a girlfriend?”

Allura couldn’t believe her ears. Just the notion that this girl would come into her home as a guest and just assume… One thing was for sure, she wasn’t going to step aside and let some stranger walk right in and disrupt what she’d been working on for the past two years. Besides, Keith wasn’t that gullible to fall for someone like this. Someone so…so…empty. Allura couldn’t put a finger on it, but something with this girl was amiss. At first she thought it was jealousy, but now, she was getting suspicious. Or maybe it was jealousy. One thing was for sure; Allura knew what Keith wanted, and he didn’t want Allea. Or did he?

The knock at the door caused Allura to jump. Thank God. She couldn’t stand another minute alone with this presumptuous, over-zealous…little girl.

“Come in!” They both chimed simultaneously.

Keith keyed the chamber door and entered with his usual, casual flair.

“Ready?”

Allura relaxed. There was nothing to worry about; she could see it in his eyes. “Yes, we’re ready.”

“Good. The others are waiting in the stables.” He stole a quick glance over Allea. “You two ladies look very lovely this afternoon,” he offered in a very courtly manner.

Haggar shot the Princess her best ‘I told you so’ look and headed into the corridor.

“Captain, I feel a little unsteady today. Could you lend me a hand?” She didn’t even wait for a response, latching herself onto his arm and urging him down the hall.

Allura followed, certain she didn’t like this girl one bit.